Leipzig Crushed by Dortmund in Bundesliga Opener

RB Leipzig did little to stop the onslaught of Borussia Dortmund to start the 2018-19 German Bundesliga season, suffering a 4-1 loss at the Westfalenstadion yesterday afternoon. Nearly 80,000 fans came out for what is becoming one of German football’s most heated rivalries, and this game did little to calm that fire.

Leipzig Crushed by Dortmund in Bundesliga Opener

“In games of this magnitude, the little things make the difference,” said manager Ralf Rangnick after the game. “I have no complaints about how we played in the first 30 minutes. Roman Burki was outstanding. We lost the game from set-pieces and balls into the box. Because of this, we weren’t rewarded for the massive effort we put in. My team looked fresh and we were up to it.”

The game started incredibly positive for the East German team as they took the lead in the first 30 seconds. Jean-Kevin Augustin scored the first goal of the season for Leipzig when he split the defense with a run and a great headed ball found his foot. His shot was precise and the game the crowd was silenced early.

The game fell apart after the 30th minute with Dortmund equalizing with a goal from Mahmoud Dahoud and then an own goal from Marcel Sabitzer. Just before the half the lead swelled to 3-1 when Axel Witsel scored. Leipzig tried to battle back in the second half but found it difficult against a sturdy Dortmund team. Their defense had soldified and Burki made big saves to keep Leipzig from mounting a comeback. Marco Reus added a goal in the 90th minute to seal the contest.

“We’re very disappointed with the final result,” said midfielder Diego Demme. “We’ve got to build on how we played in the first 30 minutes, something we can do in the second leg of the Europa League playoff on Thursday.”

Zorya Luhansk will travel to Leipzig this week to close out the Europa League playoff. It is a massive game for the German club who hopes to put this poor start to the Bundesliga behind them. Next week will also see the team open Red Bull Arena for the league campaign against Fortuna Dusseldorf.